1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to improvements in the filed of ballet skis. The improvements relate to improved stability at low speeds, lighter weight, easier manufacturing, enhanced safety and easier transportation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The typical prior art snow ski is very long, narrow and thin. These skis typically exhibit some flexibility along their length, but assume a reversed camber in their unflexed condition. Thus, a ski that has its bottom placed on a flat surface will be supported by the front and rear of the ski. However, portions of the ski between the front and rear will be spaced upwardly from the flat supporting surface.
Bindings are used to releasably secure ski boots to the skis. The bindings include a pressure sensitive release that will separate the boot from the ski in response to forces encountered during a fall. The release of the ski substantially reduces the possibility of leg or knee injuries. Most prior art bindings include brakes that bite into the snow when the boot is released from binding. The brakes are located adjacent the top surface of the ski and generally behind the heal of the ski boot when the ski boot is locked into the binding. Upon release of the ski boot from the binding, the brakes move laterally beyond the sides of the ski and pivot downwardly into the snow.
The length of prior art skis make them difficult to carry. Some skiers use the brakes to clamp the skis in bottom-to-bottom relationship. The interconnected skis can then be held in one hand while the skier carries additional equipment in the other hand. This interlocking of brakes can be difficult to achieve and difficult to maintain. Even a slight shifting of one ski relative to the other can cause the brakes to disengage and can make the carrying of skis cumbersome. The prior art also includes ski carriers in the form of plastic clamps that lockingly engage around a pair of skis. The clamps include a carrying handle and can greatly facilitate the carrying of prior art skis. However, the carrier must be stored while the skis are being used. Furthermore, the carrier does not avoid the inconveniences attributed to the considerable length of most prior art skis. The prior art also includes elongate flexible straps with metallic rings affixed to each end. Opposed ends of the strap can be looped through the rings, and the loops can be tightened around spaced apart locations on a pair of skis. The strap and skis then can be carried by hand or draped over the shoulder of the skier. These prior art straps are desirable in that they are inexpensive and can readily be collapsed and stored in the pocket while the skis are being used. However, the straps are not stable on the skis and the loops will eventually slide toward a central location near the bindings. Skiers have difficulty balancing the unstably suspended skis.
Very effective prior art skis are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,291 and in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 339,398 both of which issued to Richard Gauer. The skis shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,291 and in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 339,398 are shorter, wider and thicker than the conventional prior art ski described above, and are substantially inflexible. The bottom surface of the skis shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,291 and in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 339,398 are continuously arcuately convex from front to rear. The ski shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,291 also is arcuately convex in a side-to-side direction at all locations along a centrally disposed, longitudinally extending strip of the bottom surface. However the sides of the bottom surface shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,291 are substantially flat in a side-to-side direction and opposed sides are generally colinear with one another at any cross-section. The ski shown in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 339,398 does not include this side-to-side flattening near the side edges, and is continuously arcuately convex from side to side at all locations along the ski. The degree of side-to-side convexity in both of these patented skis varies along the length of the ski, such that a greater curvature exists at locations forward and aft of the foot. The skis shown in patents to Richard Gauer achieve the seemingly inconsistent objectives of providing enhanced mobility and increased control while performing various downhill ballet skiing maneuvers. These skis have enabled experienced skiers to perform beautiful artistic ballet movements while skiing down a steep slope, and also have enabled novice skiers, elderly skiers and handicapped skiers to effortlessly perform basic downhill skiing maneuvers. The skis shown in the patents to Richard Gauer are marketed under the trademark GAUER.
Despite the many advantages of the skies shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,291 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 339,398, improvements can still be made. For example, the side-to-side convexity at all locations along the length of the GAUER brand of ski can make skiers feel unstable when skiing slowly on packed snow or when standing stationary on packed snow. This may occur, for example, when the skier is moving into or through a ski lift line or when a skier is exiting a chair lift. At these locations, the snow is likely to be densely packed, and the skier may be standing substantially erect with weight balanced centrally over the skis while moving very slowly or standing still. Under these conditions, a novice skier may perceive a loss of balance in response to a shift of weight.
The prior art GAUER brand skis also are considered to be heavy for their size. In this regard, the hollow foam-filled embodiments formed from two lateral channels as depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,291 have been difficult to commercialize. Rather, the unitary injection molded ski depicted in the design patent has proved more commercially feasible. However, in view of the significant thickness, the unitarily molded ski is fairly heavy (3.5 pounds each ski without bindings) and requires a fairly long injection molding cycle time.
The width and thicknesses of the GAUER brand of skis also have made use prior art brakes difficult. In particular, prior art brakes will rotate into the top surface of the GAUER brand ski before moving laterally beyond the sides of the ski. Attempts have been made to bend the brakes outwardly into positions that will permit them to rotate fully. However, these revisions to the prior art brakes cause the brakes to project laterally even while the boots are in the bindings. Thus, a skier can readily catch one boot or ski on the inside brake of the opposed ski. Furthermore, the outwardly bent brakes do not dig deeply into the snow, and hence braking effectiveness is reduced.
The shorter length of the GAUER brand of skis intuitively should lead to easier carrying. However, the greater width and thickness makes it difficult to manually grasp these skis. Additionally, the prior art plastic carrying clamps are not dimensionally suited to the prior art GAUER brand of skis. The prior art straps described above can be used with GAUER brand of skis. However, these prior art straps have certain deficiencies as noted above. Additionally, the significant width and thickness dimensions of GAUER brand of skis make the looping required by the prior art straps even more difficult. Furthermore, these skis inherently leave little room aft of the bindings. Hence, there is only a very short space on the prior art GAUER brand skis that can be engaged by the loop of the prior art strap.
Water skis bear some resemblance to snow skis, but are subject to significantly different forces during use. Nevertheless, the water ski shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,992 has a bottom surface which, at all locations along the ski is curved from front to rear and flat from side-to-side. The ski also includes plane surfaces around the bottom periphery to define a dihedral at the intersections with the flat bottom surface. The continuous front to rear curvature would not yield enhanced stability for a stationary or slow moving skier on snow. Furthermore, the bottom surface that is flat from side-to-side at all locations and the plane surfaces around the bottom periphery would not permit smooth flowing ballet movement on snow.